forever yours, faithfully
by totallygilmore
Summary: She's supposed to be over him. She's supposed to move on in New York City, but when his face graced her doorstep that night, she knew that wasn't ever going to happen. Post-4x03, slight spoilers for 4x04.


**title:** forever yours, faithfully

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**summary:** she's supposed to be over him. she's supposed to move on in new york city, but when his face graced her doorstep that night, she knew that wasn't ever going to happen. Post-4x03 and slight spoilers/apart of 4x04.

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**notes:** somewhat angsty with a happy ending for my favorite couples. :)

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**pairings: **finchel (endgame), klaine (endgame), a bit of rachel/brody.

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_"You can kiss me if you want to."_

_"I want to," he said, leaning towards her to kiss her.  
_

_"I love you," he said, behind the red velvet curtains at Regionals.  
_

_"Will you marry me?" he asked, down on one knee in front of her on the very same stage they had shared their first kiss.  
_

_"I do," he had begun before being cut off with the news of their friend's accident.  
_

_"You have to get on that train," he said.  
_

_"I love you so much," he reminded her, before she was boarded upon the train, the conductor yelling in the distance._

_xxx  
_

_Six months ago._ That was the last she had heard from him. The day at the train station had been their last conversation.  
For months on end, she had stared down at her engagement ring, refusing to take it off. Of course, during classes she had to, as it was a requirement, but other than that, it never left her finger.

Then she met Brody. He was hunky, adorable, sweet, and three years her senior. He was what every girl wanted in a boyfriend.

But she couldn't. In the back of her mind, the doubt lingered. She constantly asked Kurt if Finn had said anything about her in their monthly phone calls where Kurt updated Finn on their parents and such.

_"No,"_ was the answer every time, with a sympathetic look upon her best friend's face.

She would sigh and return to whatever she was doing (which usually was planning and practicing new dance routines so that Cassie would berate her in class the next day).

Days passed by, life dragged on. New York City might have been her dream, but everything seemed to be the same. She was made fun of. She was pushed around and constantly laughed at. In Lima, Ohio, Rachel Berry had been the best of them all; no one had been able to touch her with her exuberant talent and well-rounded-ness in the theatre arts. In New York City, New York, she was nothing more than a speckle of paint on the side of the white-washed theatre she passed every day on the corner of Broadway and 42nd street.

Then, Kurt with his new internship at _Vogue_ and his new boss Isabelle, they turned her into a goddess. She went from looking like a mix of a preschooler (as Santana had so dubbed her look at one point) slash retro girl to, as the pair had called it, a _Sex in the City_ woman.

_ Ready or not, here I come...I like your face, do you like my song..._

With her new found confidence, she had decided to push the issue away. He had not contacted her. He hadn't made any effort to reach out to her. And Brody was right there in front of her...so she took the advantage.

_Moon river, wider than a mile. I'm crossing you in style someday._

Fireworks sparked (or more like an actual fire on the stove) and Brody kissed her, and—

_Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker..._

A knock.

_Two_ knocks.

_Three knocks.  
_

She straightened up, moving away from the NYADA junior that she had such confused feelings for.

_Kurt really needs to remember his key_, Rachel mused as she walked towards the door, swinging it open.

She froze.

It was one of those moments, few and far between, where she was completely and utterly silent.

_"Finn..."_

She heard a rustle behind her and Finn's demeanor changed, which meant Brody had appeared in his eyesight.

"_Finn,"_ he whispered once more, her thumb tracing her empty ring finger under her sweater sleeve.

_Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way_

"Who's he?" Finn muttered, looking at Brody, who had just appeared on the doorway, next to Rachel.

Brody extended his hand. "Brody Weston. Junior at NYADA. And you?"

Finn took the hand, in a tight grip that she knew he learned during boot camp, and shook it. "Finn Hudson. Rachel's _fiancé_."

The demeanor of the room changed in an instant, she could feel Brody stiffen at the world 'fiancé'. Brody looked at Rachel. Rachel looked at Finn. And Finn stared Brody down. Then, Brody picked up his jacket, clearly confused and upset.

"Goodnight," the NYADA junior grunted as he pushed passed Finn to leave the apartment.

She didn't know what to say. So she didn't say anything, letting it all slip away.

xxx

_What was he doing here? Why hadn't he called her? Were they still engaged? If not, what were they?_

She sat on a park bench next to him, Kurt and Blaine a mile back or so.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, placing his hands over hers. "I shouldn't have left it the way I did back in May. I love you so much and I just wanted you to follow your dreams and—"

Crossing her arms across her chest, she huffed. _"And what if my dreams don't include you anymore?! What I'd I have moved on to bigger and better things?! Remember, you broke up with me!"_

She saw the pain and hurt flash through his eyes, then a pang of something along the lines of guilt and remorse hit her.

But instead of facing it, like she typically did her problems, upon seeing Kurt running in another direction, she did the same and ran behind her best friend, away from Finn.

xxx

For three days, Kurt and Rachel holed up in their apartment watching _Gilmore Girls_ re-runs and eating frozen yogurt, completely depressed.

On the fourth day, however, Blaine showed up at their apartment, apologizing to Kurt about his "setting you free" and that he loves him more than anything or anyone. That was the night Kurt and Blaine got back together.

Rachel, however, was still knee deep in problems. Brody wouldn't talk to her, despite her constant attempts to explain (okay, so maybe she hadn't attempted to explain, but still, he still could have answered her text saying _'Hey'_). Finn had left three voicemails over the last few days, wanting to make sure she was alright.

She regretted what she had to Finn. It was harsh and unkind. However, it was still unclear to her whether it had had it been true or not. That was what she could not comprehend. She was torn in two between her future and her past.

Stumbling past Kurt's open bedroom door, she saw the newly reunited couple cuddling in each others arms, Blaine the big spoon, Kurt the little spoon. She wished her problems would fade away and she could be as happy as they were now.

xxx

Weeks passed and Christmas came to New York City. Kurt and Blaine were engaged and planning to wed sometime after Blaine's graduation and move to New York. Brody hardly made any contact with Rachel after that night, stating that he couldn't until "she figured things out." Rachel hadn't done that yet, much less talked to Finn.

On a cold and brisk December day, she trampled across Central Park in the deep snow.

_"Rachel?"_ came a voice. The voice she had been avoiding for nearly a month now.

She turned around, coming face-to-face with him.

"Hello, Finn."

He smiled slightly at her, brushing a clump of snow out of her hair. That one touch sent sparks flying through her body and memories flooded back to her.

_"Break a leg."  
"I love you."_

_"It was the superman of all kisses—it came with its own cape!"_

_"Rachel Berry, will you marry me?"_

Time stood still in that moment, the snow flying around them, nipping at their wind-beaten cheeks.

"New York and Broadway have always been my dreams. I've always wanted them so badly," she began, mumbling the words to him. "But then you came along and you became a part of that dream, Finn."

He took a couple of steps closer towards her.

"That day at the train station and the fact that you never contacted me before or after boot camp, when Kurt told me you could have—it just felt like you had given up on us," she stated, her voice trembling. "I didn't know what to do anymore—I didn't know if I should wait—so I stopped because I knew that, at that point, I couldn't keep waiting any longer. But then you showed up at my door and I didn't know what to think and in that moment all of the feelings I thought I had for Brody flew out the window and I...I realized now that_ I still love you_."

Finn smiled his charming _'boy-next-door'_ smile that lit up her heart.

"But if we are going to make this work, once and for all, we both have to be one-hundred percent in it. We have to communicate."

Tears were falling down Rachel's face, but the difference was that this time these tears were tears of happiness—of _joy_.

"I _never_ stopped _loving you_."

Snow fell around them, the tension between them faded away, both of them forgetting that they had promised Kurt and Blaine that they would be at their dinner with Burt and Carole in which Blaine and Kurt would announce their engagement to the Hummel-Hudson parents. But as their lips met, everything around them faded away in that moment.

_I'm forever yours, faithfully._

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**This came into my head earlier tonight with my range of emotions and feelings over this past episode and the upcoming one. I know this is not my best writing, far from it, especially given that I wrote it in thirty minutes and typed it up with an hour. **

**Klaine is my OTP and I ship Finchel hardcore and I know that they are endgame (and that, at least Klaine is getting back together shortly after 4x04), but it just hurts still. When I saw Finn's face at the door when he saw Brody, my heart broke. Sometimes I wish that Season 4 could just fade away and we could go back to mostly happy Season 3. **

**Please Review. :) **

**I don't own the Glee quotes. I also don't own the songs used:  
**

**"Ready or Not" - Bridgit Mendler  
**

**"Moon River" - Andy Williams  
**

**"Faithfully" -Journey/Glee Cast  
**


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